This show featured the first Alumni Blues since July 24, 1999 (222 shows) and the first Letter to Jimmy Page since July 15, 1994 (587 shows). This show featured the Phish debut of Free Man in Paris (Joni Mitchell). Chalk Dust was unfinished. 2001 contained a Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' quote from Trey, the ensuing Billie Jean Jam contained a Thriller tease from Trey, and the second "verse" of 2001 contained still more Billie Jean teases, all on the first anniversary of Michael Jackson's death. Billie Jean was a Phish debut.

Show Reviews

Damn fine show, foreshadowing the towering second Merriweather gig a couple days later. Set One highlights include the evolving TTE jam (no seriously) (no SERIOUSLY!), the well-chosen Joni Mitchell cover, and Split.

Of course Set Two is the big money: Chalkdust bounces patiently along but never blows up, Caspian functions as a 2/26/03-style landing pad and transitional tune - check out Trey's detailed trip-o-let work in the Caspian jam - and Heavy Things flows in organically. Hell, even Alaska is good here! This is a spectacular start to the set.

Then we're into the second half, which is the headline material. The 2001 is good, certainly a lot of fun, but not great - it's an old-fashioned throwback to the teasing allusions that characterized the nerd-savant Phish shows of the early 90's. Despite its length it's not a particularly 'complex' version. This is OK! I'll take an 11-minute monkeyparty 2001 over any other brief, clanky post-Coventry version. But let's be frank: this is a messy Billie Jean 'jam' mostly characterized by Trey singing the melody wrong, Mike playing the bassline wrong(!!!!!!!!!), and Page presumably wondering why he's the only one actually performing the song they're nominally jamming on.

Aww, Page. You half-bald geek.

What follows is one of my favourite versions of Light yet played, and a climactic Possum - complete with Bowie-style trill madness from Trey, blues-leavened - to blast your brain clean out of your skull.

The 6/27/10 Maryland show is the highlight of the tour so far, I think, but this one's nearly on its level - a triumph of its own sort. None of my criticisms matter when you're laughing and pumping your fists at the rock'n'roll magic rainbowing out of your stereo. Go do that then!

Super fun show and a great way to end off a sweet run at Camen. Opening up iwth Alumni Blues>Letter to Jimmy Page was completely old school and super rare to end see in a set let alone an opener. Awesome to get a nice BBFCFM after that. Since Phish still had the energy high, they let off a perfect Runaway Jim. Highlight of the first set was most likely the SOAM>THe Sloth>TTE. Just sweet.

2nd set brought some serious heat. Especially the 2001>Billie Jean, THiller>2001. WOW. Even before that epic jam, Phish pulled a rocking 17min Chalkdust opener. Caspian, Possum, Character Zero were the highlights of the 2nd set besides the 2001. The 2001 is 100% worth the download alone. Just crazy. Great show all around.

Seven rows back and not on the lawn thanks to Jay Birds upgrade and VIP bar/pisser brAhcelt, thanks Man.

Opener- Alumni Blues>Letter To Jimmy Page>Alumni Blues
Great Bust out, played really well, dropping a Letter To Jimmy Page in the Middle was definitely a rare treat, great way to start a show and make some people feel like noobs if they didn't know the songs

BBFCFM- Why Do I want to Kill You? Great fun and kept the crowd energized,
CAUSE YOUR A BIG BLACK FURRY CREAT FROM MARS

Runaway Jim- First big Jam of the night, Trey and Page leading the Charge here

Army of One- Nice big power ballad to showcase Page and his keys

Free Man In Paris- Didn't know this was a Joni Mitchell Song (thanks Jay Rose) Mike seemed to know the vocals well, catchy hook to it and I did dig it

Summer of 89-hadn't heard this yet, Not a fan of the placement here after the Army of One ballad and Mike cover, but was balls hot in there, so I guess they needed more cool off time. cheesey catchy, a love song from Trey to his wife and daughters

Split Open and Melt- One of my favorites, the contrasting rhythms from all four guys in the composed section of the song is just off the hook, great jam on the odd meter vamp at the end and they play with the time a little and stretch it some, I really dug this at the show and it holds up on tape

Sloth- Rob was calling for this in the lot and was rewarded, great edgy song, lots of high five-ing in our seats, having fun and raging

Time Turns Elastic- As Jay Rose called it Time Turns the Pisser, mass exodus out of the pavilion it seemed, we hit the VIP bar/pisser and rolled back with beverages to the lawn and watch the song wrap up. I don't know why people are down on this song, it is a well written and a well played song and the outro jam is pretty heavy, listening back I wish I stayed and watched

Golgi - Out on the lawn, good view, good sound, song my boat is named after, so of course I am jazzed, this song brings some many ideas to my head, like my microbiology class in 1995, like I can't wait to get out on the Golgi for July 4th, did I leave the aux power switch on the Golgi on after the last trip, do I still have my tix stub to get seven rows down again?

Set Two

Chalkdust- Its Camden, last set of the run, so of course we get a second set chalkdust opener, very nice spaceyness out of the jam, coupled with Mike's fuzz tone, Fishman then sets up a tribal groove nicely over it, then he sets up a ripping drum and bass groove that sends this jam over the edge and into something special

Prince Caspian- floating jam at the end, Trey playing some really high notes and filling space, washy Fishman playing makes it work

Heavy Things- I moved to where Jay Rose had me be, 7 rows back, thanks Jay! and I get to use the VIP to pee!

Alaska- Very, Very Dead like tune, opening sounds just like Tennessee Jed, during the show, I thought Trey and Page teased Dylan's Rainy Day Women #12 & #35 during the show, and after a re-listen, I feel pretty good about that statement

2001- I was calling for this in the lot and boy did it deliver with Michael Jackson teases abound on the one year anniversary of his death from what I was told, this was the best 2001 for me since the Went, a dance party for sure that got the place bumping

Light- I really enjoyed this version, the jam is great and spacey then it really gets the ambient, alien sounding stuff at the end with Page's keys leading the way and maybe just a tease of some MJ's Wanna Be Starting Something again in the ambient noise

Possum - makes you want to get down and dance every time you hear it and I did

Character Zero- Rocker to end the Set on a high note

Encore: Shine A Light - glad to get here one of the new Stones covers from Exile played

Great show, lots of bust outs, new stuff and fun stuff. On to Merriweather for Two

this was my fourth show of the tour, including stops at hershey, hartford, and spac. granted, sitting in the 12th row fish side certainly can bias a review, but i thought this was my favorite of the four. a quick shout out to my wonderful neighbors in section 101, whose presence greatly enhanced the evening. what i love about this show, and this tour in general is the utter lack of predictability, and the depth and breadth of the their playlists. opening with alumni/jimmy page/ alumni is a perfect example. who really saw that coming? really? the productivity is astounding, and one gets the feeling that over the course of the 'breakup' trey has had multiple epiphanies regarding life and the role of phish in life, and clearly this is a creative outpouring. some phans may complain about overexposure to new tunes that bring down the vibe of the show, but i say keep it coming. 2010 is already such a standout exactly because of the variability coming off the stage. i had seen army of one at festival 8 acoustically, and this was indeed a treat to catch it again. summer of '89 i've now seen both times, and imagine that, another phish tune grows in my brain. soam and sloth, oh yeah, i saw those at my first show in '91. guess there is some common thread running back to the beginning. it's all there everyone. all of it. tte may have been one of the surprises of the evening for me. many folk chose this as the piss break/beer run/take a seat song, and i must admit i parked my butt down as well. however, i found about halfway through that i was back on my feet, and very much digging the jamming at the end of the song. this one is growing folks. i had the absolute pleasure of seeing this performed with the ny philharmonic at carnegie hall, and having heard it with 70 pieces adds an extreme level of appreciation to the fact that it's just four guys pulling this off. i saw it again at festy, then the garden run, and it's growing. there's a huge launching pad in there, and i'm guessing it's not long til this one explodes. patience. what can i say about cdt? my third of the tour, and frankly feeling that it's becoming pretty pedestrian. however, last night's version shook off all constraints, and the jam out of this is stellar, and worth the download alone. reminiscent of albany's -7/ghost, this is a reminder to any doubters that the band has the capabilities to do whatever it wants whenever it wants. it's all there. solid versions of caspian, heavy things and funky alaska. 2001 with michael jackson tribute is just special, and the energy down low was explosive. i've caught 4 out of 5 shine a lights, and it's a wonderful encore. i do wish that the torn and frayed from cinci last year wasn't an anomoly. i've listened to that festy set about a million times, and t&f is a gem. anyway, it seems this is a band with their collective foot on the gas, and i've been more excited this past year than any other time in my phish career spanning 19 years. i've got a big boy job, wife, kids, and the moments become that more special. there is simply no other band even in the same league. keep it coming, gentlemen. see you in t-ride!!!!!

Another very fun and totally random show. Great energy all throughout the night, with the highlight definitely being the 2001 Michael Jackson fest. The first set was pretty remarkable in that, with the exception of Split Open & Melt, no song was played from any album between Junta and Undermind. I'm sure people will look at the second set setlist & see what would appear to be a dull set, but everything was played with high energy and nailed. Letter to Jimmy Page & the Sloth were played absoluely perfectly.
These past two nights at Camden were very unstereotypical & unique, which are traits I particulary enjoy after having seen them so many times. I forgot to mention it in the review from Thursday, but people have to hear the Boogie On. The effect Mike had on his bass was Stevie Wonder's keyboard & he played the lines stupendously. Very fun times both nights.

I had a fun time at this show! The first set started very well, then fizzled but for a couple songs, one of them being SOAM. The second set was definitely better, I remember. I probably will only revisit the 2001 on my ipod, though. I don't really remember 2001s over time - they just get the audience riled up, but seldom are memorable per se. Friday night's was a very clear exception. There are better shows to listen to so far than Friday, but I'm not sure I heard any song yet in 2010 as nasty, fun, funky, and inspiring as this 2001. Well worth the purchase and deserves many repeated listenings!

On a side note, I was the only guy in college who wanted Thriller (the album) played for Halloween 1995 (and every Halloween thereafter)! Not only was I lucky enough to experience (probably/maybe?) the closest Phish will get to that, but I feel vindicated for being the lone wolf on that album pick. If Phish were to perform this whole album live for Halloween, the potential is for the funkiest s*t ever for a Halloween show. If you don't believe me, listen to the 2001 again from the June 25th show and you will believe!

Has to be one of the best shows I've seen....Billy Jean Jam was awesome...But seeing Alumni Blues > Jimmy Page > Alumni Blues really took the cake....
First Solo show for me....had a blast and the crowd around me was so fun...

I'll have to admit that this was not one of my favorite shows I've seen, but it had many redeeming qualities. I definitely felt that the army of one through summer of '89 sucked the energy out of set one despite the bust out opener. However, Melt through Golgi brought things back on track. TTE is a really good well composed song and I think people need to stop ragging on it as a set killer just because of the intricate composition. When they start playing it less I think people will appreciate it more. Second set was pretty muck ass-kickin' time, with Chalkdust, 2001, and Possum being some of the best versions I've seen. All-in-all an average Phish show with some scattered highlights.

This is one of those "amped-up" shows. You can pretty much tell from the setlist, though there are a few "breathers" in there. I'm impressed by the mild psychedelia of the Runaway Jim in the first set; this song's tempo always feels propulsive, and though the jam here is pretty much Type I, and doesn't veer into space like a Summer '95 Jim, it's just a really good version. Free Man in Paris is debuted, which I like... Summer 2010 was kind of a little sibling to the Summer 1998 "Summer of Covers." I think most phans prefer the variety and diction of '98's covers, though--especially considering one of them was Terrapin Station! Chalk Dust Torture covers a lot of ground as the big jam opening and IMO anchoring Set II, though the segue from Alaska -> 2001 is novel, as is that from Light -> Possum. I'd like to point out that Summer of '89 is actually a pretty long version, and that I wish Phish would bring back Time Turns Elastic. I understand that judging by .Net's reception of the song, it's not one of the best loved in the catalogue, but I have the perspective that it is one of the best songwriting-and-epic-composition accomplishments since the Reunion. I don't care if you can't figure out how to dance to it, LOL!

This show featured an awful chalkdust torture, it wasn't even a jam. The first set was decent. With SOAM and Golgi as the best played songs in the set. Time Turns Elastic allowed for everyone to go to the bathroom or get a drink, however the ending jam of TTE was very good. The Second set was probably the best set i've ever seen if not, its certainly up there. 2001 featuring the michael jackson songs was probably the highlight of the set. Possum was the best possum i have ever heard, so much energy from all members of the band turned that Possum into musical awesomeness (Don't get me wrong all Possums are great). Character Zero was a great a jam and ended the set appropriately. The encore could not have been better. I'm always in the mood for some Shine a Light.

There was much energy and excitement carrying over from the stellar Thursday night show and things started incredibly well. Through Army of One the show was off to a great, great start -- then the train fell off the tracks and never recovered (although they tried hard and were playing very, very well at some points). The remainder of the 1st was a boring list and the energy never returned. I found myself sitting alot and never could get into it.

It was a good call to come out with an upbeat song with Chalkdust and this was nicely extended and Trey did some nice work with this. Nothing that blew me away, but it was just nice. I love Caspain so everything was fine at this point, but then again Trey decides to pull two 1st set songs and while nicely played, the Heavy Things and Alaska did not get the crowd enagaged. 2001 was a big highlight and it was so nice to see it blown out a bit and different from any of its 3.0 brethern. Light > Possum > Characater was well played, but again the show never got off the ground. Shine a Light is losing its cache, but was good. A very ho-hum night in Camden. No flow, bad list. 5/10.

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